Letters to the Editor

Published
10:00 pm PDT, Thursday, May 10, 2007

CANADIAN DRUGS

Lawmakers bow down to the almighty dollar Once again, the Senate blocks a bid to ease restrictions on importing drugs from Canada. When I read what some senators are saying, I felt I needed a drug to ease my nausea. Wyoming Republican Michael Enzi said it would increase risks to consumers. Mississippi Republican Thad Cochran described how people died after taking contaminated medicines from China. Hey, I wouldn't consider taking drugs from China, either. I certainly would take drugs from Canada, as so many of my Vancouver friends do, without giving it a second thought.

Wouldn't it make sense to try importing regulated drugs from Canada and not from other countries? In many cases, it would save consumers almost half of what they're now paying. Nations in Europe buy from other countries on a daily basis. They search for the best price. Why don't those who cater to the drug industry 'fess up? It never was about protection for Americans; it has always been about the drug lobby and the almighty dollar.

Dick CurtisIssaquah

ANSWERS

Letter about poll better left unpublished I was amazed by the Thursday letter from Herb Thylin stating that he knows why President Bush's approval ratings are so low. He goes on to state that Newsweek polled more Democrats than Republicans. How did he know that, and how did Newsweek know the political affiliation of each person polled? Was each person asked, "Which political party do you belong to?" and then the pollsters made sure to edit out the Republican answers? What really amazed me is that the P-I bothered to print his letter. Maybe you should have printed a new "joke" section and stuck the letter writer's outlandish claims there, where they belonged.

Leftists have courage to fight for the truth Joel Connelly's parental finger wagging at what he refers to as the far left shows his lack of understanding of what the "left" represents (Wednesday column). Every idea that has yet to be understood or adopted by the mainstream is always referred to as leftist. Only the liberals and leftists have the courage to fight for the truth rather than fighting for what is easier.

Remember when global warming was just a leftist idea? Remember the drive last year by liberals who pushed Middle East occupation onto Page 1 of the political debate? Their willingness to risk being ostracized led to the meltdown of the war machine of the administration and the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. More than any group, it's the far left that wants to protect our troops by bringing them home. Seventy percent of the country agrees.

As former CIA Director George Tenet's book has made clear, the Bush administration knew about the threat of 9/11 long before Sept. 11, 2001. They knew months in advance because Tenet and the CIA told them. The notion that no one in our government knew about 9/11 is nonsense. The idea of impeaching Cheney or Bush not so much.

Imperative to impeach crosses political spectrum I wonder where Joel Connelly gets the idea that impeachment is an issue only for the "far left"?

The imperative to impeach belongs to a much broader political spectrum. In response to his opinion that it is "not worth the risk," countless concerned citizens would say that it is not worth the risk to tolerate a president who has committed serious crimes.

President Bush's impeachable offenses include the manufacture of evidence to mislead the nation into war with Iraq, including lying to Congress, illegally spying and wiretapping on Americans, and sanctioning the use of torture and extraordinary rendition, in violation of the sixth and eighth amendments to the Constitution as well as the Geneva Conventions.

I would use the word "appeasement" to characterize the inaction of Congress, a word etched on our minds since Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Adolf Hitler in 1938.

The work no longer centers on patient care After reading the Tuesday column by Kathleen Bartholomew ("Nurses struggle against the odds"), I wish I could have found something to disagree with, but I couldn't. Speaking as one of her average nurses, I am tired. Advances in technology have not eased our load, patients are much sicker and their situations are much more complex than they once were. I agree that the majority of the nurse's work is invisible and it is that work that takes us away from the bedside and the personal contact with our patients. I often feel that my workday is comparable to an actual marathon. The starting line is the report room door and the finish line is the locker room, with everything else a blur.

After more than 20 years in the profession, I see no end in sight and now only hope to be able to hold on until retirement. I do often wonder if real help will ever arrive.

And, by the way, does the general public know that this week is National Nurses Week?

Food choices not the root of parents' problems It saddens me to see the story about the vegan couple in Atlanta, Ga., who are being sentenced to life in prison for the death of their malnourished child ("Vegans sentenced in baby's death"). It's sad not because of the sentence -- child abuse, neglect and sheer stupidity should be punished -- but because it adds fuel to the fire for people who think vegans are freaks or, in this case, deluded freaks.

We read stories too often about people who mistreat, neglect and even kill their children, and in every case, it is a tragedy that indicates that something went very wrong. In this case, it was that the parents a) clearly did not have any idea how to be healthy vegans and b) obviously had little idea how to be parents. It wasn't just veganism at the root of the problem.

I've been a vegan for eight years and at 39, am in the best shape of my life and am in prime health, according to my doctor; however, this is because I pay close attention to make sure that I get all of the nutrition I need -- all of which I get without eating animals or animal products.

Babies can be vegan, too, but because of their quick growth and nutritional needs, anyone raising a child as a vegan needs to make extraordinary effort to make sure that a proper and sufficient diet is maintained and the close involvement of a pediatric nutritionist should be a requirement.

Carbon credits part of a corrupt process This is regarding the New York Times story reprinted in Monday's P-I titled "Carbon credits may reduce only guilt."

The faith-based nature of global warming alarmism becomes even more apparent. The Medieval church, speaking for God, sold indulgences so the errant faithful could buy their way out of purgatory. The alarmists, speaking for science, sell offsets so the errant faithful can buy their way out of an otherwise unconscionable carbon footprint.

Where is our modern-day Martin Luther, and where should he (or she) post a list of theses protesting the entire corrupt process?

James A. WoosterLake Tapps

FAMILY

Progressives could learn from Ward and June According to the editors of the P-I, "stresses on the modern American family" are the cause of "widespread showing of TV to even 3-month-old babies." Even more devastating is the study that shows that "one-fifth of children age 2 and under actually have TVs in their bedrooms" (Wednesday editorial).

Why has this happened? According to the P-I, "families are caught by social policies, planning decisions and economic forces that give little emphasis to supporting children." It shouldn't surprise readers of the P-I that the editors blame capitalism.

TVs would magically disappear from toddlers' bedrooms if those evil capitalist companies only had better family leave policies, the P-I seems to say. I'm sure that's all it would take to repair the "frayed, scattered families" mentioned in the editorial.

What utter nonsense.

The "progressive" establishment ought to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence (including the editorial I'm referring to), that its 40-year campaign to destroy family values, promote single-parenthood and shove infants into day care has been an absolute disaster.

Liberal "progressives" are fond of sneering at 1950s "traditional family" TV shows such as "Leave It to Beaver." They, including the editors of the P-I, could stand to learn a thing or two from Ward and June.